News July 2009
EVOLUTION KEEPS REVOLVING
This year C. Meijer B.V. has sponsored the university museum of Utrecht’s exhibition, EVOLUTION KEEPS REVOLVING. In this text you can read about what this exhibition has to offer.
2009 is declared internationally to be the Year of Darwin. This year will be the 200th birthday of Darwin and 150 years ago he published his The origin of species. In connection with the Year of Darwin, the exhibition Evolution Keeps Revolving will be presented in 2009. After all, evolution is always and everywhere continuing, like a continuous rotating engine.
Darwin and evolution
In December of 1831, he was able to travel, as a researcher and especially as a companion with captain FritzRoy, on the ship “The Beagle”, which was going to make a world tour passing by way of Africa, South America, Australia and Asia. In October of 1836, the Beagle arrived back in England. The research he did during the voyage, especially his observations in South America and on the Galapagos islands, eventually led, on November 22nd 1859, to the publication of his famous book: On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, later known under the abridged title The origin of species.
Evolution keeps revolving
Evolution has been revolving for over 2 billion years. Evolution plays a part, not only in the rainforest or in the ocean, but also in everybody’s backyard, in our food supply and our fight against disease. With diseases like AIDS, man himself is placed in the centre of the evolutionary process. On the basis of four examples the visitor can see and experience what role evolution plays in our immediate environment.
Potatoes
The species of potatoes we consume are still susceptible to many diseases. They are grown with a focus on, for example, taste or cooking properties and often this is difficult to combine with resistance to disease. They lack the genetic information to be able to eliminate disease. Because the potatoes of certain species are all clones, genetically they are identical plants and, thus, equally vulnerable. Here we use the term monoculture. Seen from an evolutionary perspective, potatoes for consumption are very weak due to a lack of genetic variation. The potato disease, Phytophthora infestans, in particular, constitutes a large problem. Most of the cultures have no resistance to this disease, which can destroy entire crops if they are not protected by chemical products. Wild species of potatoes from South America have a broad genetic variation and are much more resistant to disease. Thus, by means of evolution, they have developed resistance to Phytophthora. Scientists and potato-refiners are constantly trying to develop less vulnerable species. They lend evolution a hand by intentionally building in properties of wild potatoes into the species destined for consumption. Thus, after years of research, there are now several species that are resistant to the potato disease Phytophthora. One of these species is Bionica.
In addition to potatoes, subjects like the great tit and the pygmy hippopotamus are explored and the HIV virus is also included.
Visitors
Up until now, approximately 12 000 visitors have visited the exhibition. The goal is 30 000 visitors. A lot of school groups have been introduced to evolution. They get started with the classroom materials about evolution in their schools. The sequence is completed by a visit to The Evolution Keeps Revolving exhibition. Here students will put themselves in the skin of an organism to experience how evolution could work for them.
The Evolution Keeps Revolving can be visited until January 31st 2010
Address
Lange Nieuwstraat 106
3512 PN Utrecht
T: 030-2538008
www.darwinjaar2009.nl
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